In October 2017, as part of the Dual Masters in Heritage and Memory Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the students of the second year went on an excursion to two Eastern European cities- Lviv, Ukraine and Lublin, Poland. During our stay, we looked closely at several case studies in order to analyse and understand the contemporary and sometimes conflicted discourses on memory and heritage, both locally and nationally. Drawing on a common theme of ‘contested heritage,’ the students conducted site analyses in various locations throughout these two cities. These sites, most of which are focused on the Second World War era, range from campscapes to monuments; cemeteries to religious sites; museums to the urban fabric itself. This website is the result of the research projects conducted in these two cities.
On the individual pages, you will find the empirical results from these analyses; these reflections have taken shape in the form of a class podcast and accompanying blog posts. In themed episodes, which you can find on the individual pages, you can listen to our on-site observations and methodologies, which are further reflected upon within the blog posts. Combined, the content of this website addresses the ways in which we have been able to apply the concepts and theories we’ve learned in the classroom in the real world.
Contributors to this research project are (see picture left to right): Amanda Smith, Sanne Letschert, Nina Verheul, Bram de Jong, Juliëtte Dekker, Jelmer Peter, Elspeth Hunter, Claire Farbrace, Martina Montemaggi, Nazlu Laird and Paige Foley. During this process, we were instructed and supervised by Dr. Zuzanna Dziuban and Prof. Dr. Rob van der Laarse (not in picture).
To learn more about the Dual Master’s Program in Heritage and Memory Studies you can visit the website of the University of Amsterdam. This Masters Program is part of the Amsterdam Research School of Heritage, Memory and Material Culture (AHM).
